Can You Spot The Lesbians? Lohan and Ronson Are Out In Public Again.

I am not a big reader of celebrity news. I find most of it to be trite nonsense meant to function as junk food for the brain. Living in the 24 hour media world though, I have been unable to avoid having it unwillingly foist upon me. Usually I read the glaring headline and move on to something more relevant to the issues that are dear to me.

In the flashing of headlines I learned that Lindsay Lohan is dating Samantha Ronson. No big deal, two women dating time to move on. Even with my limited attention to celebrity news what I cannot help but notice is that every time there is a story about these two women invariably in the title or somewhere in the body of the article the reporter makes sure to mention that these women are lesbians,and that they are dating.

Lesbian,Lesbian, Lesbian…the media wants to be sure that we are aware of this fact as though it is any of our business who Lohan gets to double click her mouse. I find this trend to constantly make her sexuality an issue disturbing. There is never this sort of hysterical declaration of straight celebrities. You will not find a single article with a picture of a straight celebrity screaming in a declaratory tone, heterosexual, heterosexual, heterosexual.

Straight women apparently are just doing what is “normal” and “natural” and therefore there is no need to announce (other than when they are being “slutty”) that they are in engaged in an intimate relationship with someone. We are meant to be shocked that Lohan and Ronson are fucking, and that they are happy about it. Is happiness without a dick even possible in a world where we are reared to worship the phallus as the ultimate giver of pleasure?

When we think of sex and female orgasms, it is always constructed as something men give to women, or what I have termed thePassive pussy complex.(note link contains graphic images)Can we even call what these two women do in the dark sex? If sex is understood as a man inserting his penis into a vagina, thus bestowing on an extremely lucky woman an orgasm, then no we cannot define what these two women do as sex in our heterosexist understanding, and this is our failing.

The hetero/homo binary informs much of the media’s treatment of Lohan and Ronson. Heterosexuality must never declare itself, whereas homosexuality must always declare itself, thus announcing difference to the world. Heterosexuality is dependent on homosexuality to be understood as normal and thus socially we constantly discipline bodies that are GBLT. It is done for the sake of affirmation that yes indeed, you are sharing your lust and genitalia in the right and normal way.

Patriarchy also plays a huge role in the ways in which Lohan and Ronson are treated. Women’s bodies are socially constructed to constantly be consumed by men. For these two women to reject the great dick and find love with each other, is an affront to the idea that a man is a necessity in the life of a woman. Patriarchy depends in part on projecting and promoting the idea that fulfillment for a woman is simply not possible unless there is a man actively engaged in her life. For generations one of the worst insults that could be hurled at a woman was the label of old maid. To this day there is a panic in the black community because of the supposed lack of eligible black men, for black women to marry. Dear God the black women are living without a dick to submit to, how will we survive as a people?

We seriously need to move beyond the point where two women fucking is headline news. With all of the shit going on in this world, our obsession with other peoples sex lives is ridiculous. What Lohan and Ronson do is none of our concern, and they certainly should be able to exist in peace and happiness without the media playing spot the lesbian every time they dare to enter the public sphere.